Commissioned Project: CG Sculpt of an Amphibious Humanoid Creature

Commissioned Project: CG Sculpt of an Amphibious Humanoid Creature

Around the time of our Adaptation project brief, a friend of mine studying at UCA Maidstone commissioned me to develop a CG model of a non-descript, amphibious, humanoid creature, as part of her current project. She pretty much gave me control to generate whatever I wanted to, whilst sticking loosely to a basic outline of what she had in mind. Although, as the Adaptation project was hugely demanding, I haven't had a proper chance to put anything together for her until now. 

The image above is the state of the creature currently. As time is fairly tight and I wanted to flex my sculpting muscles a bit, I've decided to create the creature strictly using Mudbox, working into the 'Generic Male' preset, and modifying it as I go.

The approach is very, very on-the-fly, as I'm piecing design aspects together as I go along, googling pieces of reference as and when something pops into my head. Typically, this fairly blind approach would terrify me, but after the Adaptation project, this freestyle approach is surprisingly refreshing and the first creative task I've undertaken that I have genuinely enjoyed for quite a while.

Its looking very doughy at the moment, but I will post updates as I develop this creature over the coming days, gradually building up its details evening by evening and hopefully creating something pretty cool for my first real go at CG sculpting. 

Maya Tutorials Compilation

Maya Tutorials Compilation

Sketching Particles (Clouds)
Dynamics One: Particles, Emitters and Forces
Dynamics Two: Goals, Instances and Sprites

Modelling Four: Games Modelling- Normal Maps

Lighting and Rendering Two: Introduction to Mental Ray

(Any absent and incomplete tutorials will be completed over the summer break)

Adaptation: Crit Presentation

Crit Presentation

Adaptation Crit Presenation

Adaptation: 'Making Plans for Nigel' Editing Update

'Making Plans for Nigel' Editing Update

Back by semi-popular demand are the repetitious visual motifs (currently comprised of my Pre-Vis placeholders, but soon to be updated) and the snippets of advertisements from the past, as seen in the Pre-Vis. I've also added Barbara Kruger/They Live-inspired still text elements, which I had considered using early on in the project. The particular set in this update uses the slogan of a popular online auction site (Hint: it rhymes with 'leeway').

I'm fairly pleased with how it is coming along so far, but I felt I ought to upload the first minute or so of footage to see if this is feeling was unanimous.

Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated, and the final edit should be complete this evening (although the final visual motifs will be added tomorrow, along with the final clips currently rendering at uni).

Adaptation: 'Making Plans for Nigel' Rough Cut

 'Making Plans for Nigel' Rough Cut

This is a rough cut of the final video for Making Plans for Nigel. The rhythm is pretty much there, although it needs tidying up.

Originally, I was going to intersplice two-dimensional animated footage, created in After Effects, between the rendered footage (as seen in my Pre-Vis). Although, I feel as though the repetition of the rendered footage provides the same experience that the After Effects segments had provided before, without forcing the viewer to adjust to shifting visual styles. There is a chance I may still include them, as well as the advertising video footage, but at the moment, I am satisfied with the result so far. I think the video may end up coming off as cluttered and a bit slapdash if I continue to lump elements on, even though they were planned to be included initially.

As well as the changes above, I have also shortened the song by about a minute, as the 3:30 limit was proving to be a bit of a struggle to reach, without the footage outstaying its welcome. Also, the title in the footage is currently a placeholder, and will be changed for the final video.

Any critique and feedback would be greatly appreciated whilst I tidy up and apply the finishing touches to the video. Thanks!

Adaptation: Rendered Footage Preview

Rendered Footage Preview

After a while of no posts, I finally have some progress to display. This is a low quality preview of the rendered animation so far. 

I have a bit more left to animate, as well as a lot of footage that is currently rendering as I create this post. The total length of the footage will likely be around 1:30-2:00. Whilst this doesn't fit the approx. 3:00 length of the track, this will be extended by cutting in samples of found video footage and still images, as displayed in my Pre-Vis. As for the repetitive After Effects segments, I plan to construct these once the bulk of the footage is compiled. I'm fairly comfortable working with After Effects, so this is fairly achievable as long as things go smoothly. I am cutting things incredibly close at this point, but I suppose its better to push things to the extreme instead of slowing down to a stop. 

All in all, I'm fairly confident (touch wood) that I will get the rendered animation finished, if nothing else, by the crit.